I've owned and own a lot of stuff. Muscle: 69 Boss, 71 Torino CJ GT,
British: Jensen Healey, Triumph Stag, XJS Eclectic: (actually the Stag and
Jensen fit here too) Intercooled Merkur XR4Ti, Peugeot 505 STI, X1/9, and
currently have in my garage a 70 Mercedes 300 SEL that's never seen rain rarely
seen sun and has 30K original miles on it.
None of these have been as much fun as the Tiger. Mostly, I think its the V8
dumping out of the dual exhaust with the top down as you control the revs.
The basic brute structure is also a plus. While I'd never dream of choosing to
drive cross country in one, the thin seats, the mechanics of the top loader,
the toggle switches, and every other bit of the car seems so basic that its a
throwback to pure driving. Simply, it has the panache of a Porsche Speedster,
the layout of Spitfires, and the flavor of a host of other European rally cars,
but can actually get out of its own way.
I've never felt so close to the road, X1/9 excepted--but it couldn't get out of
its own way, as when I'm blastin' around in the Tiger.
And then there's the one thing that nobody's mentioning, but it definately is a
plus. This car is, no bones about it, an awsome car to be seen in. Everywhere
I take it I find 60's car guys begging me to open the hood. It gets one thumbs
up or one audible "awsome" per mile of driving. What else can you drive that
will cause the owner of the random 60's Vette next to you at a stop light to
crane his neck out past the A-piller just to check out the metal.
And when all is said and done, and the left blinker isn't working, you can
usually figure out why on your own without sinking $400.00 in to the fix.
Just Cool.
Bob Nersesian
B382000975
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